In this review of The Forever Home #1, we’re introduced to Henry, his family, and their futuristic home that shields them from the outside.
The Forever Home #1
Writer: Christian Ward
Artist: Sami Kivelä
Main Cover: Christian Ward
Variant Covers: Justine Frany, Sami Kivelä, Christian Ward, David Rubín, Miguel Mercado
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: 9/9/2026
This review contains spoilers
After an opening scene where a guy in a suit is being targeted, apparently, by his son (The Future), we go to The Past. Our main family is going about their morning, and it’s established that the world outside of their house is a barren wasteland. But two more things about their house that stand out: 1) the robot servants that cater to them, and 2) the fact that 20 minutes inside of their home is the equivalent to a year outside. And during their meal, outside, we can see that nature is already starting to make its way back.
After six House Years, the outside world is now basically a jungle, and the kids have gotten a bit older. There are also people residing outside of their home that are deemed enough of a threat to warrant death. The kids, along with the family dog Dodo, go to a part of the house they really shouldn’t, and the younger one Tommy gets back to the mural he’s been working on.
Sarah, the older of the two, sends a bot out to the garden…only for Dodo to bolt outside when the door’s open. Tommy chases after him, and before Sarah can get them back inside, the door closes.
Dinner time rolls around, and Sarah wants to go see about finding her little brother. But Henry blames her for what happened and writes the boy off as dead. The alarms go off, and who should be at the door but a now grown-up Tommy, some new friends, and an insistence upon being let in.
Immediately, I’m drawn to the premise of The Forever Home. I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of locations where time moves differently from what’s outside. And in this one, such a location was intentionally constructed to do just that to protect one man’s family from the ravages of the outside world.
Though one gets the feeling that maybe Henry is a bit too protective, bordering on authoritarian. He’s convinced that those outside, braving the conditions out there, are savages. I’m wondering how many of these Outside People were around in the before-times, and how many of them only ever knew the world as it slowly rebuilt. Henry doesn’t recognize them as human beings, so would people have re-evolved, or is it more a case of classism?
There’s also his reaction to his son and Dodo getting outside. We don’t see him show much concern at all. In fact, the first reaction we see from him is getting angry and immediately assigning blame to his older daughter.
Sarah interests me, definitely. Even at a young age, she bluntly states that the main reason the world got to that state was because of the adults. That’s something a kid might say without much of a basis for anything, but she’s still probably right. As she gets older, she encourages her younger brother to think for himself, says that their dad’s knowledge isn’t the end all, be all of everything.
Dodo’s also pretty great. He reminds me a bit of my own dog, being quite food-driven. Anytime this dog’s on the page, he’s looking for food. Usually table scraps. When he bolts outside, that feeling of dread immediately kicks in. He was already an adult when he got outside. He’s been outside a few House Hours, long enough for Tommy to have become a grown man. Even if nothing else outside got to him, time probably did.
The artwork for this story’s pretty great, as well. Some aspects of it bring to mind classic 60s sci-fi, particularly with the character designs. And most of the color has a calming feel to it. Right up until the alarms start going off, when it all becomes harsher, colored with a stark red/yellow/black combo to really help push the emergency feel of the situation.
Final Thoughts
The Forever Home #1 promises an intriguing tale, with some major family drama mixed in with the time-bending. Strong start, awesome premise, and I eagerly anticipate learning more about the world outside of their shelter.
